FINRA Board of Governors Elects Vanguard’s John Brennan as Chairman

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the U.S., announced that its board of governors unanimously elected John “Jack” Brennan, Vanguard Group chairman emeritus and senior advisor, as FINRA chairman effective August 15th.

Brennan has served as FINRA’s lead governor since 2011 and succeeds Richard Ketchum as chairman. His term will be effective upon Ketchum’s previously announced retirement. In June, FINRA announced that Robert Cook will become FINRA’s new chief executive in the second half of 2016; his expected start date is August 15th. It was also announced at that time that FINRA would move to a non-executive chair structure for its board governance.

“Throughout his tenure on the boards of FINRA and its predecessor, as well as his many years leading Vanguard, Jack has been a tireless advocate for individual investors and liquid, fair markets,” said Ketchum. “During my tenure at FINRA, Jack has been a trusted adviser and partner, helping us develop a number of important programs to support our mission.”

Brennan joined the board of governors of the National Association of Securities Dealers and remained on the board following the merger of the NASD and New York Stock Exchange Regulation in 2007, a combination that gave rise to FINRA.

FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business – from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms, writing rules, enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws, and informing and educating the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities.